Battling Hepatitis C at The Oasis Clinic

May may be Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, but it’s also Hepatitis C Awareness Month. For those who don’t know, here’s a quick science lesson: Hep C is a devastating disease of the liver that affects nearly 3.2 million people in the U.S. Due to the disease’s tendency to not become chronic until later on, most folks don’t know they have it until it’s done irreparable damage to their body. Transmission is mainly via fluids, so intravenous drug users are often at a higher risk for Hep C.

A couple months back, I got to sit down with Niema Jordan. She’s a filmmaker, Town native and all-around dope person and she was excited to share her latest film, Oasis. It’s a short documentary that profiles the O.A.S.I.S. clinic here in Oakland that is wholly dedicated to helping those living with Hepatitis C. With full disclosure (Niema is a friend of REELYDOPE,) I must say that the film is an empathetic and human look at a disease many of us take for granted. Many of the subjects are older and Hep C has affected them at many different stages in life. While some still struggle to deal with it in the day-to-day, others find themselves at O.A.S.I.S. to re-engage their own histories. It’s at times haunting and celebratory, and Niema & Co do a great job of telling the stories that need to be told.

Now, while I can’t share the entirety of that conversation just yet (#szn5 come soon?), I promised I’d make sure that ya’ll got a chance to peep her work and support the clinic.

Here’s the trailer.

And here’s a link to the film itself. It’s $1.99 to rent and I promise ya won’t regret it.

After you’re done watching, be sure to support the Oasis clinic in any way you can!

Dap owns Timberland boots and is committed to loving black women, eating good food and diversifying media as he sees fit and while he can. He can be found yelling into the abyss and being snarky on the following: IG | Twitter